10 You shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; anyone else who tries to do so shall be put to death.”
11 The Lord said to Moses,
12-13 “The Levites are now to be mine. When I killed all the firstborn of the Egyptians, I consecrated as my own the eldest son of each Israelite family and the firstborn of every animal. Now, instead of having the firstborn sons of Israel as my own, I have the Levites; they will belong to me. I am the Lord.”
14 In the Sinai Desert the Lord commanded Moses
15 to register the Levites by clans and families, enrolling every male a month old or older,
16 and Moses did so.
17-20 Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, who were the ancestors of the clans that bear their names. Gershon had two sons: Libni and Shimei; Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. They were the ancestors of the families that bear their names.